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Saturday, May 18, 2013

CONAN - Under the Watchful Eye of His Mountain God - R.A. Wonsowski

Layout:1222713337144471555716667Panel 1 - Blood red dawn tints the long panel down the left side of the page. From above, we are looking down the length of a long wooden bridge across a mountain pass. At the top of the page, CONAN stands, only a sword held in both hands before him, pointed at the three BRIGANDS he is facing (toward the bottom of the page).CAPTION: "Red sky at morning, all take warning." - old sailor's adagePanel 2 - POV shift: now level with the action, looking down the length of the bridge, a red-pink sky. As CONAN runs his sword through BRIGAND #1, he grabs BRIGAND #3 around the neck to grasp his head. BRIGAND #2 readies his sword, holding it behind him to ready his swing. In the background, the silhouette of a robed man pushing a basket cart.SoundFX (sword): shNTPanel 3 - A pink-white sky as CONAN twists the head of BRIGAND #3 around as decapitates BRIGAND #2 with a backhanded swing. In the background, the silhouette is more distinct; the scabbard of a long sword can be seen at the hip of the man, and the head and one hand of a child pokes out of the basket cart.SoundFX (sword): SHING!SoundFX (neck): KRAKK!!Panel 4 - The sky is white now. CONAN, tense and alert, sniffs the air and turns his head to look over his shoulder, and we see revealed OGAMI ITTō, the LONE WOLF, one hand pushing his CUB, DAIGORō (about age 3), in a makeshift baby cart, the other hand on the hilt of his long executioner's katana. CAPTION: From the babe's silence, I know the child is no stranger to death.Panel 5 - As the sky transitions from white to light blue, the POV shifts again: we see, standing on the bridge, facing each other, CONAN (on the panel's left), bloodied sword at the ready, facing OGAMI ITTō (panel right), whose hand is still on the hilt of his samurai sword, pulled only a few inches from the scabbard, exposing a small measure of the blade to the rising sun, standing calmly erect in front of his son in the baby cart.CAPTION: I can smell the touch of Crom upon them both. Father and child, never to be free of His taint.Panel 6 - Same as Panel 5, except that the sky is a briiliant morning blue. CONAN now is out of his fighting crouch, and stands at attention, head back, chest out, back straight; he holds his sword with both hands at the hilt, upside-down, pointed at the ground, pommel to his chest in salute to the samurai. OGAMI ITTō returns the courtesy with a deep bow at the waist.CAPTION: And I know well the look of a man who has not yet tasted his just and rightful vengeance.Panel 7 - Long panel down the right side of the page, a repeat of the POV of panel 1. The scene is now brightened by the warm morning sun, the colour can even be a little washed out, giving the blood of the brigands lying on the bridge a coppery brown tint. From above, we see CONAN, now at the bottom of the page, completing his crossing of the bridge. At the top of the page, OGAMI ITTō and DAIGORō, the LONE WOLF AND CUB, watch and wait for the barbarian to complete his crossing.CAPTION: Though we may worship different gods, I am sure we share the same religion, kneeling only at the altar of our revenge.CAPTION: -- from the Chronicles of King Conan the Cimmerian.Conan created by Robert E. Howard.Lone Wolf and Cub created by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima.